the spiritual practice of traveling alone

Keeping the Door Open to Luck!

Hello, fellow travelers. I am writing from the Outer Hebrides, the Isle of Harris and Lewis, on my dream trip. On the way over, I learned (again) an important truth.

It could happen.

You just might make that flight, you should run for the train you think you have already missed, and definitely check just one more time on that impossible reservation. How can good luck find you if you have already given up?

In planning my flights from Nashville to Edinburgh, I felt so inept that I forgo that not booking my trans Atlantic flight on the same ticket with my continuing connection to Edinburgh would have consequences. The BA agent told me that unfortunately I wouldn’t make the connection for my 11:40 flight from Heathrow to Edinburgh. That would be my non-refundable 11:40 ticket. I dutifully booked a later flight, losing two hours of my afternoon in Edinburgh. But, I didn’t release that earlier ticket.

With the bravado of the jet-lagged, I decided to go for it. The question always to ask is, ‘what do In have to lose?’ The agent that said I could never make it was right except last Thursday morning. It appears that everyone had to do a quick run through security before connecting. This time, no one was in line but our flight, it was efficient and speedy. On a chance, I ran to the gate, presented my ticket without a boarding pass and, though online checking had passed, the gate agent was up for honoring the booking and seat assignment.

With fifteen minutes to spare, I made the original plan. That meant feeling less tired on arrival and getting to have a classic afternoon tea at The Balmoral. (There was a harpist. Do this if you have a chance. The haggis puff pastry was delicious.)

This good luck has found me with train connections that were supposed to be lost causes and a wonderful fully booked dinner with a Scottish author.

The question really is about risk. I certainly booked the back up ticket to insure getting into Edinburgh and if I hadn’t made it, nothing would have been lost but something was gained. It was a treat and a confidence boost!

Learnings

If you can, book through on one ticket. I did have a struggle with a connection through Barcelona that made it hard to get a boarding pass until I arrived. Not worth my indecision!

When the flight doesn’t appear to be full on the seating chart, you might want to bypass premium economy and pick a good aisle seat toward the back. After all the upgrade offers, the small premium coach section was elbow to elbow, but I had a row to myself in the far back.

Well, I took it from Inverness back to London and it’s an extremely sore point! When I bought the ticket months back, the pages were all about the magnificent new carriages and amenities. When I got aboard, giddy with excitement about my Agatha Christie style trip through Scotland, as the sun set, sipping my whisky, I discovered that somehow the changes hadn’t happened yet and my “club first class single” was a scrubby, rusty single room with no posh new bath, charging station, or fancy bed. The more staff aboard were dealing with a number of us who felt that way. I could have flown for half the price and a better whisky.

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

About Me

I’m not an adventure traveller. I’ve never ridden a motorcycle across Madagascar or gone into the jungle alone with nothing but my iPad and a knife— but I do believe that travelling solo to Tuscany or Tulsa is within reach. My hope is that every woman, in fact every one, can plan a dream trip or personal retreat within their resources without feeling they have to depend on having a travel partner.